


The Art of Being Right

by KenjiroS



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, M/M, One Shot, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:24:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KenjiroS/pseuds/KenjiroS
Summary: Kuroo is given the highest-paid project of the year. The client is a bit of a surprise





	The Art of Being Right

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who doesn't know how to write oneshots ? Me ! Also, guess who might've gotten a bit a bit OOC ( if I have, my sincere apologies. I tried ). Overall, this was...strange, from beginning to end, but here it is, Enjoy.

It started out as work. An incredibly rich lawyer who had decided to buy a large villa on a quiet private beach. The man apparently had high standards and was picky about everything. So Nekomata had announced, one sleepy Monday morning, that Tetsurou, as the most experienced, would take on the project. His job ? To make the villa perfect for the client. True, being an interior designer was more art than anything but still, the man had to be happy with the result. There had been hints about unbelievably large amounts of money being involved and Tetsurou was proud to be chosen. Even if the job looked more complicated with every passing day.

 

\- All I’m saying is, it needs to create an experience. It’s your home, you need to feel completely relaxed and at ease in it. – The client’s face pinched a little. He looked like Tetsurou had suggested some new and completely innovative idea, and not that he doesn’t buy the terrible couch he’d picked from the catalog.

\- But it is a couch and it looks comfortable. What more do I need it to do ? – He couldn’t be serious. Tetsurou waited. He was serious. Damn. Bokuto would tease him to no end if he saw this. Nobody was that…literal. 

\- Yes, but… - The man blinked and tilted his head in genuine confusion. Now he knew why Nekomata had been so particular with who took the client. It was ridiculous. – Okay, scenario. You come back on a Friday night with… - He glanced at the man’s hands. – a hot babe you picked in a club, okay ? And she’s totally into you. A real lady, classy, but really, really wants to get horizontal, right now. You feel me ?

The next few seconds were the longest in his life. The client was not giving any signs he was “feeling” Tetsurou and if he cost the company all the zeroes in the commission, they wouldn’t even find his body. And it would not be Nekomata. He personally suspected Yaku, though Fukunaga sometimes gave off weird vibes. Trying a little harder, he flashed his more playful grin, just to show he wasn’t serious. And then…

\- I’m gay. – Oh. That’s what the whole silence had been about ? That was…strangely refreshing. – So there would be no women coming here to impress.

\- Okay, new scenario. – Since he didn’t appear insulted by Tetsurou’s forwardness, he tried again. – Friday night, you come back with some handsome young stud. You know, a nice college boy. And he walks in, laughing a little because he wants to impress this well-dressed handsome man, and then he sees this. This…thing. – Another silence. Why couldn’t the client react a little more obviously ? Tetsurou couldn’t read him to save his life.

\- It’s a couch.

\- It’s mint green.

\- Nobody would be looking at it. They would be sitting on it.

\- It’s mint green. In a warm living room of natural colours. It will stick out like a sore thumb even if it wasn’t covered with that pattern. I think those flowers went out of fashion the last century.

\- But flowers are natural and so it mint.

\- That… - He was laughing at him. Tetsurou’s mouth hung open. It was in the tiny details, in the eyes and the tight lips, like the client was trying hard not to straight up burst into laugher. He was being teased. By the man people in the field had labeled “iceberg” and “completely unapproachable”. That man was trying to see how far Tetsurou would go. The same man was trying out Tetsurou’s buttons. – That was good. I admit it.

\- I have no idea what you mean. And there would be no random Friday flings.

\- Oh ? – Maybe the guy was simply not married, though a partner would had probably been mentioned at some point during the designing process.

\- It’s not my kind of life. – That made a little more sense. A little, because he was young and had the kind of sharp, clean handsomeness one couldn’t find often at their age. Also, he could coordinate a three piece suit, tie and shoes like nobody’s business. Tetsurou was impressed. Though the problem remained. – But, you’re the professional. What would you recommend ?

\- Well, this one right here, - He flipped through the thick catalog, looking for the photo he remembered seeing. – this will fit the overall look of the room while still being comfortable enough.

The other man leaned in and, whoa, that was a good cologne. Sniffing clients never made a good impression, Tetsurou knew from experience, but this was taking it to the next level. He just wanted to bury his nose in…

\- I guess I will have to trust you on some things. It’s your job, after all, and Nekomata made it clear you are the best. Okay. I agree.

That had been about two seconds away from turning into the embarrassment of the year. Smiling a little, Tetsurou pulled back and cocked his head.

\- Yep. And your mystery guests will love it. Now, let’s look at the coffee tables, shall we ?

 

It was completely normal, Tetsurou reasoned. They had spent so long together in that house that it was normal for the client to invite him to dinner to celebrate the final state of the process. Tetsurou had spent three entire days going over the place with a microscope, looking for non-existent flaws and issues. Everything was perfect. He’d made sure of it. The house was minimalistic, which had been the first requirement, but warm, with wood and potted plants to break the scene and make it not look desolate and impersonal. He’d left some shelves wrong because the client had mentioned some high school trophies and photos he wanted to put there on display. 

And now, after the last check up on the cleaning crew’s work, he was torn between which jacket to put on. It was definitely going to be more formal than a shirt with jeans, but would he need a tie ? True, he knew he looked good in everything, but style was obviously important for the client and he wanted to at least try to do his best.

An hour and a half later, he was glad he’d picked correctly. The client was without a tie but still looking like he’d walked straight of a magazine, and Tetsurou knew he matched. The restaurant was as high-end as he’d expected but the company was definitely a surprise.

\- And that’s why I signed for a double major in interior design and microbiology. I mean, it allowed me to do what I knew I needed for my job but still enjoy studying science stuff. It’s so cool, you know ?

The solemn nod he received was a surprise, too.

\- I did classes on the side of my law degree. Astronomy. – He had done what ? His disbelief must have shown on his face because the other man laughed softly. Wait, where had this come from ? It had been such a soft sound that he was entranced. – Did it all for a crush that went nowhere.

\- This sounds like there is a story behind it. – He wasn’t trying to dig, oh well, who was he kidding, of course he was, but the man didn’t seem as closed off and distant as he had been in the beginning of the project so he thought he was allowed a little leeway.

\- Not really. I was very…infatuated with a man I knew back in high school. He ended up in my University. He had hated me for way too long and I thought, foolishly, that if I was familiar with some of the things that interested him, I would win his affection. Childish, I know, but it was the first time I was around him for so long and it became important to win him. – He ended the little speech with a slight shrug. Those shoulders, though. Tetsurou was weak for a strong man who knew how to handle himself.

\- Did it work ? – He was honestly curious.

\- Of course not. He’d hated me for a reason, because I didn’t know how to express myself in high school, and I acted…not in the correct way. Just because I was around him, it wouldn’t make him like me. Not really. But I ended up liking the science. Even if I had to drop it soon after I’d started because law school doesn’t really allow much free time. It is good, though. Interesting. Makes you think.

The atmosphere was kind of heavy, with silence blanketing the table, so Tetsurou felt like he needed to return the favour.

\- I thought I was in love with my best friend’s boyfriend. Back in school. – The other man raised his eyebrows. Oh, so that got his attention. – I thought I was being discreet, that nobody could tell. It was agonizing, how much I valued my friend and how pretty his boyfriend was. He was pretty, hell, he still is.

\- So what happened ? – He wasn’t the only one willing to prod.

\- In our first year in Uni, Akaashi comes to visit since he’s a year younger. And they have this fight or something, I can’t remember. My friend goes to cool down and pout in someone else’s flat, his boyfriend stays with me and I am just there, by the kitchen counter, pretending I don’t exist. Because usually, I’d make a joke about it, but they were serious this time. It didn’t seem appropriate.

\- And you had the ability to recognise “appropriate” ? – The audacity. The man picked the worst moments to show he knew how to tease. Tetsurou was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

\- Hey ! I have tact. And I had some small seed of it even then. Do you want to hear or not ?

\- Please, - A royal wave of hand. – continue.

\- So, it’s just me and Akaashi, and I am begging for the floor to open and swallow me up. Because couples fight, but not your best friends, who have been dating for years, you know. And then Akaashi comes to me, presses me to the counter, and he’s tall, but he’s shorter than me and it doesn’t mean anything because he’s staring straight into my eyes and I am freaking out. And then he says something. I still have no idea what, and kisses me. Right there. I think I had a heart attack, died, and was then kicked back down because people who kiss their best friends’ boyfriends have no place in heaven.

So, he kisses me, presses more, I remember saying something, and then he pulls back and has this expression, like a teacher that is so done with the class acting stupid he’s about to pull out some tests and make them keep quiet. And then he says “See ? Nothing. Now, help me find our best friend before he eats everything in Konoha’s fridge. I am not buying him food again”. 

That’s what made me realise it really was nothing. True, he was gorgeous but I hadn’t felt anything. Not like what you’re supposed to feel when your crush for several years finally makes a move. It was weird.

\- How did your friend react ?

\- Oh, he just went “ Yeah, I told you, ‘kaashi. I know Kuroo, I know how he looks when he’s in love. And he wasn’t looking at you the way he looks at food, so I knew we were cool.”

\- I have to say, this sounds…

\- Go on. – Tetsurou rubbed his face. – Laugh. I know you want to. – But he only smiled a little. And lifted his glass.

\- Cheers. For high school crushes that made us the people we are now. – If that wasn’t the cheesiest toast he’d ever heard, Tetsurou didn’t know what was. But he touched his own glass to his and sipped his wine.

\- You know that was terrible, right ? – The one-sided smile he got was the only warning.

\- And you know your story sounded worse than a romantic comedy, right ? – Well, he was good. Tetsurou would admit it.

\- Cheers for that.

 

Why had he agreed to that, again ? The official end of the project was tomorrow, he had no reason to take his client to the house in the middle of the night just because said client had expressed interest. Flinging the door open with a flair, he turned to the man behind him, expecting…well, something. But his eyes were not on the room. 

The door was shut carefully, the key clicking in the lock. And then the client stepped towards Tetsurou. Slowly. His eyes were completely clear and too serious for the situation. Had he missed some part of the story ? 

\- It’s Friday. – What ? Tetsurou knew it was, that’s why he’d agreed so easily, because it had been a quiet day and he’d had no plans for the evening.

\- Yes…?

\- And I have a handsome young stud in my house. So, - He got even closer, until only a couple of centimetres separated their lips. – what do you think about the couch ? – There was something there, something he was supposed to be remembering, but he couldn’t think. Because the man’s drugging scent was going to his head faster than any alcohol and he really, really wanted to taste the skin on his neck, right above the collar of his shirt. It framed it so beautifully that he wanted to mess it up completely. Or, better yet, take it all off.

\- What couch ? – In the dark, he could barely make the smirk on the other man’s face.

\- Exactly.

 

Waking up next to a man was not something new. Waking up next to a client, in the house he had been working on, on the day when it was supposed to be completed, on the other hand…That was a first. He turned slowly to look at the other man and met a calm dark gaze.

\- Hey.

\- Good morning. – What was the protocol for this ? He definitely hadn’t seen it in the Employee Handbook.

\- Good morning to you, too. You want coffee ? – Tetsurou nodded. – And I think one of the good cafes in the area delivers breakfast, even on Saturday mornings. If you’d like, of course.

\- Sure… - He didn’t mean to drag it out, but the other man took it the wrong way.

\- You can use my mane, you know. It’s okay.

\- Sure, Wakatoshi.

\- And, I told you, nobody would notice the couch.

\- Hey, wait a minute…!

**Author's Note:**

> How was it ? First oneshot, be brutal. Thank you for reading, come and chat on kenjiro-s.tumblr.com


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